Oily wastewater is an extensive source of pollution to soil and water, and its harmless treatment is of great importance for the protection of our aquatic ecosystems. Membrane filtration is highly desirable for removing oil from oily water because it has the advantages of energy efficiency, easy processing and low maintenance cost. However, membrane fouling during filtration leads to severe flux decline and impedes long-term operation of membranes in practical wastewater treatment. Membrane fouling includes reversible fouling and irreversible fouling. The fouling mechanisms have been explored based on classical fouling models, and on oil droplet behaviors (such as droplet deposition, accumulation, coalescence and wetting) on the membranes. Membrane fouling is dominated by droplet-membrane interaction, which is influenced by the properties of the membrane (e.g., surface chemistry, structure and charge) and the wastewater (e.g., compositions and concentrations) as well as the operation conditions. Typical membrane antifouling strategies, such as surface hydrophilization, zwitterionic polymer coating, photocatalytic decomposition and electrically enhanced antifouling are reviewed, and their cons and pros for practical applications are discussed.

含油废水是对土壤和水的广泛污染源，其无害化处理对保护我们的水生生态系统具有重要意义。膜过滤对于从含油水中去除油是非常需要的，因为它具有能效高，易于加工和维护成本低的优点。但是，过滤过程中的膜污染会导致通量严重下降，并阻碍膜在实际废水处理中的长期运行。膜结垢包括可逆结垢和不可逆结垢。已经基于经典的污垢模型以及膜上的油滴行为（例如，油滴沉积，聚集，聚结和润湿）探索了结垢机理。膜污染主要是液滴与膜之间的相互作用，这受膜的性质（例如，表面化学，结构和电荷）和废水的性质（例如，组成和浓度）以及操作条件的影响。综述了典型的膜防污策略，例如表面亲水化，两性离子聚合物涂层，光催化分解和电增强防污，并讨论了其在实际应用中的利弊。